Aging is inevitable, and for many, it signals the beginning of a new chapter - one where you cross off bucket list items and live life to the fullest, on your own terms. However, for some women, aging is a horrible prospect, filled with chronic fatigue, irritability, and inability to perform in the bedroom. If you're concerned about life in middle age and beyond, we've got great news: there are easy, proven steps that you can take to help stop the negative effect of aging.
Global Life Rejuvenation was founded to give women a new lease on life - one that includes less body fat, fewer mood swings, and more energy as you age. If you're ready to look and feel younger, it's time to consider HRT (hormone replacement therapy), and growth hormone peptides. These therapies for men and women are effective, safe, and customized to fit your goals, so you can keep loving life as you get older.
HRT, and growth hormone peptide therapies bridge the gap between your old life and the more vibrant, happier version of you. With a simple click or call, you can be well on your way to a brighter future. After all, you deserve to be the one in charge of your wellness and health. Now, you have the tools to do so - backed by science and applied by our team of HRT experts with more than 13 years of experience.
As women age, their hormones begin to go through changes that affect their day-to-day lives. For women, hormone deficiency and imbalance usually occur during menopause and can cause chronic fatigue, hot flashes, and mood swings, among other issues. Hormone replacement therapy helps correct hormone imbalances in women, helping them feel more vibrant and virile as they age.
Often, HRT treatments give patients enhanced quality of life that they didn't think was possible - even in their 60's and beyond.
The benefits for women are numerous and are available today through Global Life Rejuvenation.
As women age, their bodies begin to go through significant changes that affect their quality of life. This change is called menopause and marks the end of a woman's menstrual cycle and reproduction ability. Though there is no specific age when this change occurs, the average age of menopause onset is 51 years old. However, according to doctors, menopause officially starts 12 months after a woman's final period. During the transition to menopause, women's estrogen and other hormones begin to deplete.
As that happens, many women experience severe symptoms. These symptoms include:
The symptoms of hormone deficiency can be concerning and scary for both women and their spouses. However, if you're getting older and notice some of these symptoms, there is reason to be hopeful. Hormone replacement therapy and anti-aging medicine for women can correct imbalances that happen during menopause. These safe, effective treatments leave you feeling younger, healthier, and more vibrant.
The most common reason for menopause is the natural decline in a female's reproductive hormones. However, menopause can also result from the following situations:
Oophorectomy: This surgery, which removes a woman's ovaries, causes immediate menopause. Symptoms and signs of menopause in this situation can be severe, as the hormonal changes happen abruptly.
Chemotherapy: Cancer treatments like chemotherapy can induce menopause quickly, causing symptoms to appear shortly after or even during treatment.
Ovarian Insufficiency: Also called premature ovarian failure, this condition is essentially premature menopause. It happens when a woman's ovaries quit functioning before the age of 40 and can stem from genetic factors and disease. Only 1% of women suffer from premature menopause, but HRT can help protect the heart, brain, and bones.
For many women, menopause is a trying time that can be filled with many hormonal hurdles to jump through. A little knowledge can go a long way, whether you're going through menopause now or are approaching "that" age.
Here are some of the most common issues that women experience during menopause:
If you're a woman going through menopause and find that you have become increasingly depressed, you're not alone. It's estimated that 15% of women experience depression to some degree while going through menopause. What many women don't know is that depression can start during perimenopause, or the years leading up to menopause.
Depression can be hard to diagnose, especially during perimenopause and menopause. However, if you notice the following signs, it might be time to speak with a physician:
Remember, if you're experiencing depression, you're not weak or broken - you're going through a very regular emotional experience. The good news is that with proper treatment from your doctor, depression isn't a death sentence. And with HRT and anti-aging treatment for women, depression could be the catalyst you need to enjoy a new lease on life.
Hot flashes - they're one of the most well-known symptoms of menopause. Hot flashes are intense, sudden feelings of heat across a woman's upper body. Some last second, while others last minutes, making them incredibly inconvenient and uncomfortable for most women.
Symptoms of hot flashes include:
Typically, hot flashes are caused by a lack of estrogen. Low estrogen levels negatively affect a woman's hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls body temperature and appetite. Low estrogen levels cause the hypothalamus to incorrectly assume the body is too hot, dilating blood vessels to increase blood flow. Luckily, most women don't have to settle for the uncomfortable feelings that hot flashes cause. HRT treatments for women often stabilize hormones, lessening the effects of hot flashes and menopause in general.
Mood swings are common occurrences for most people - quick shifts from happy to angry and back again, triggered by a specific event. And while many people experience mood swings, they are particularly common for women going through menopause. That's because, during menopause, the female's hormones are often imbalanced. Hormone imbalances and mood swings go hand-in-hand, resulting in frequent mood changes and even symptoms like insomnia.
The rate of production of estrogen, a hormone that fluctuates during menopause, largely determines the rate of production the hormone serotonin, which regulates mood, causing mood swings.
Luckily, HRT and anti-aging treatments in Whitfield, FL for women work wonders for mood swings by regulating hormone levels like estrogen. With normal hormone levels, women around the world are now learning that they don't have to settle for mood swings during menopause.
Staying fit and healthy is hard for anyone living in modern America. However, for women with hormone imbalances during perimenopause or menopause, weight gain is even more serious. Luckily, HRT treatments for women coupled with a physician-led diet can help keep weight in check. But which hormones need to be regulated?
Lowered sexual desire - three words most men and women hate to hear. Unfortunately, for many women in perimenopausal and menopausal states, it's just a reality of life. Thankfully, today, HRT and anti-aging treatments Whitfield, FL can help women maintain a normal, healthy sex drive. But what causes low libido in women, especially as they get older?
The hormones responsible for low libido in women are progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.
Progesterone production decreases during perimenopause, causing low sex drive in women. Lower progesterone production can also cause chronic fatigue, weight gain, and other symptoms. On the other hand, lower estrogen levels during menopause lead to vaginal dryness and even vaginal atrophy or loss of muscle tension.
Lastly, testosterone plays a role in lowered libido. And while testosterone is often grouped as a male hormone, it contributes to important health and regulatory functionality in women. A woman's testosterone serves to heighten sexual responses and enhances orgasms. When the ovaries are unable to produce sufficient levels of testosterone, it often results in a lowered sex drive.
Often uncomfortable and even painful, vaginal dryness is a serious problem for sexually active women. However, like hair loss in males, vaginal dryness is very common - almost 50% of women suffer from it during menopause.
Getting older is just a part of life, but that doesn't mean you have to settle for the side effects. HRT and anti-aging treatments for women correct vaginal dryness by re-balancing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. When supplemented with diet and healthy living, your vagina's secretions are normalized, causing discomfort to recede.
Uterine fibroids - they're perhaps the least-known symptom of menopause and hormone imbalances in women. That's because these growths on the uterus are often symptom-free. Unfortunately, these growths can be cancerous, presenting a danger for women as they age.
Many women will have fibroids at some point. Because they're symptomless, they're usually found during routine doctor exams. Some women only get one or two, while others may have large clusters of fibroids. Because fibroids are usually caused by hormone imbalances, hysterectomies have been used as a solution, forcing women into early menopause.
Advances in HRT and anti-aging medicine for women give females a safer, non-surgical option without having to experience menopause early. At Global Life Rejuvenation, our expert physicians will implement a customized HRT program to stabilize your hormones and reduce the risk of cancerous fibroid growth.
Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS, and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.
Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.
Xenoestrogen is a hormone that is very similar to estrogen. Too much xenoestrogen is thought to stimulate endometrial tissue growth. HRT for women helps balance these hormones and, when used with a custom nutrition program, can provide relief for women across the U.S.
Hormone stability is imperative for a healthy sex drive and for a normal, stress-free life during menopause. HRT and anti-aging treatments for women balance the hormones that your body has altered due to perimenopause or menopause.
HRT for women is a revolutionary step in helping women live their best lives, even as they grow older. However, at Global Life Rejuvenation, we know that no two patients are the same. That's why we specialize in holistic treatments that utilize HRT, combined with healthy nutrition, supplements, and fitness plans that maximize hormone replacement treatments.
If you've been suffering through menopause, is HRT the answer? That's hard to say without an examination by a trusted physician, but one thing's for sure. When a woman balances her hormone levels, she has a much better shot at living a regular life with limited depression, weight gain, mood swings, and hot flashes.
Here are just a few additional benefits of HRT and anti-aging treatments for females:
Hormone imbalance causes a litany of issues. But with anti-aging treatments for women, females can better process calcium, keep their cholesterol levels safe, and maintain a healthy vagina. By replenishing the body's estrogen supply, HRT can relieve symptoms from menopause and protect against osteoporosis. But that's just the start.
Global Life Rejuvenation's patients report many more benefits of HRT and anti-aging medicine for women:
If you're ready to feel better, look better, and recapture the vitality of your youth, it's time to contact Global Life Rejuvenation. It all starts with an in-depth consultation, where we will determine if HRT and anti-aging treatments for women are right for you. After all, every patient's body and hormone levels are different. Since all our treatment options are personalized, we do not have a single threshold for treatment. Instead, we look at our patient's hormone levels and analyze them on a case-by-case basis.
At Global Life Rejuvenation, we help women rediscover their youth with HRT treatment for women. We like to think of ourselves as an anti-aging concierge service, guiding and connecting our patients to the most qualified HRT physicians available. With customized HRT treatment plan for women, our patients experience fewer menopausal symptoms, less perimenopause & menopause depression, and often enjoy a more youth-like appearance.
Growth hormone peptides are an innovative therapy that boosts the natural human growth hormone production in a person's body. These exciting treatment options help slow down the aging process and give you a chance at restoring your youth.
Sermorelin is a synthetic hormone peptide, like GHRH, which triggers the release of growth hormones. When used under the care of a qualified physician, Sermorelin can help you lose weight, increase your energy levels, and help you feel much younger.
Human growth hormone (HGH) therapy has been used for years to treat hormone deficiencies. Unlike HGH, which directly replaces declining human growth hormone levels, Sermorelin addresses the underlying cause of decreased HGH, stimulating the pituitary gland naturally. This approach keeps the mechanisms of growth hormone production active.
Ipamorelin helps to release growth hormones in a person's body by mimicking a peptide called ghrelin. Ghrelin is one of three hormones which work together to regulate the growth hormone levels released by the pituitary gland. Because Ipamorelin stimulates the body to produce growth hormone, your body won't stop its natural growth hormone production, which occurs with synthetic HGH.
Ipamorelin causes growth hormone secretion that resembles natural release patterns rather than being constantly elevated from HGH. Because ipamorelin stimulates the natural production of growth hormone, our patients can use this treatment long-term with fewer health risks.
One of the biggest benefits of Ipamorelin is that it provides significant short and long-term benefits in age management therapies. Ipamorelin can boost a patient's overall health, wellbeing, and outlook on life.
When there is an increased concentration of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, there are positive benefits to the body. Some benefits include:
Whether you are considering our HRT and anti-aging treatments for women in Whitfield, FL, we are here to help. The first step to reclaiming your life begins by contacting Global Life Rejuvenation. Our friendly, knowledgeable HRT experts can help answer your questions and walk you through our procedures. From there, we'll figure out which treatments are right for you. Before you know it, you'll be well on your way to looking and feeling better than you have in years!
973-587-8638
“Whitfield Lovell: Passages” at the Boca Raton (FL) Museum of Art opens with Lovell’s multimedia experience ...
“Whitfield Lovell: Passages” at the Boca Raton (FL) Museum of Art opens with Lovell’s multimedia experience Deep River. It honors the perilous journey enslaved people took crossing the Tennessee River seeking asylum at “Camp Contraband” in Chattanooga, TN during the Civil War. The installation includes a haunting rendition of the traditional spiritual “Deep River” with its lamentation, “I want to cross over into campground,” sung by a mezzo soprano. Also heard are the sounds of waves, cicadas, crickets and birds.
A large mound of mulch in the middle of the gallery replicates rich soil. Guests encounter the harmony of ethereal sounds and earthy aromas before their eyes have adjusted to the dim lighting and Deep River’s powerful visual elements.
Three giant video projections of a river filmed at night wash onto the museum’s walls all around. Surrounding and embedded within the mound are utensils, pans, lamps, ropes, boots, weapons, a trumpet, a bible and other objects that would have helped the freedom seekers survive. Fifty-six large wooden discs encircle the mulch pile, each with a handmade drawing of a person whose identity has been lost to time.
“I see the so-called ‘anonymous’ people in these vintage photographs as being stand-ins for the ancestors I will never know,” Whitfield Lovell said.
He uses images of Black people from Emancipation through Civil Rights representing how freedom has been–and is–continually struggled for.
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“Passages” is a feast for the senses. It is smelt and heard as much as it is seen. The exhibition is tactile, guests feel it, all the wood and materials–playing cards, coins, dishes, clothing, suitcases–and surfaces. It exists in three dimensions, surrounding you. Immersive in a true sense of the word, exposing the overuse of that term as a catch-all cliché in contemporary art.
The exhibition invites museumgoers to walk through another room-filling immersive installation entitled Visitation: The Richmond Project. Depicted here, the nation’s first Black entrepreneurial community settled in Jackson Ward, Richmond, Virginia, in the 1860s just blocks from the state capitol.
The largest tableau in the Visitation, titled Our Best, measures twenty-two feet wide and features life-sized charcoal drawings of people whose images are based on historic photographs Lovell found in museums near Richmond. Dressed stylishly in turn-of-the-twentieth-century clothing, Lovell’s figures appear to hover just above the time-worn surfaces of the repurposed wood they’re painted on. They look successful, confident, proud.
Approaching Visitation, visitors hear a woman’s voice reciting the names of every resident who lived in this community. Among those names, Maggie L. Walker. She became the country’s first Black woman bank president upon founding the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903. Notice the box of pennies. Another name: Sarah Garland Jones. She was the first Black woman physician in the United States.
The names a reminder that these were real people. A focus on lost African American history.
“At one time this person walked the earth, spoke and lived and dreamed, just as we are doing today,” Lovell said. “I look for the humanity that I can find from each of the nameless images I choose to work from.”
“Passages” marks the first time these two installations are being presented together in a museum-wide exhibition of this size and scope.
“There is a drama to the works which call to mind a time past and of people long gone,” Irvin Lippman, Executive Director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art, told Forbes.com. “It is this notion of their passage that is given credence, and the artist has provided an opportunity for us to witness this journey.”
Over 350 objects are on display in Deep River and Visitation alone, every item meticulously inventoried, labelled and packed into crates by the exhibition’s organizer, American Federation of Arts, and Lovell’s gallery, DC Moore, to support the show’s national tour. Boca Raton Museum of Art staff used a detailed diagram to install the artworks over 7,000-square-feet of exhibition space and Lovell was on hand to supervise and approve final placement.
Above all else, the artist’s interest in wood comes through. Wooden chairs, wooden phonographs, wooden pianos and wagon wheels all feature in the displays. Portraits on wood paneling. On wood planks. On wooden disks. Lovell uses wood like most painters do canvas.
“I’m working with historical images, and the wood itself has history already,” Lovell has said. “The wood comes from old homes, where old souls once inhabited–so I think allowing the wood to have character is very important.”
Each realistic portrait from throughout Lovell’s career takes inspiration from antique photos found in flea markets, from discarded family albums, mug shots and archives. The artist renders each portrait directly onto old wooden boards with knots, holes, nails, traces of paint and other signs of age. The striations of the wood often come through onto the subject’s face. Lovell then adds found household objects or other mementos onto the panel itself or on the floor near each portrait.
“His maternal grandparents had a lot of wood furniture in their home and were interested in well-crafted wood products. It as evocative material with a lot of history,” Lippman explains of the artist’s interest in wood. “He started working on found wood first when he was a participant of Project Row Houses in Texas. He found charcoal on wood the perfect medium because charcoal is burnt wood.”
The meticulously physical back-and-forth process is how the artist honors the person’s memory and existence, applying the charcoal, rubbing it with his fingers to achieve the right tone, then erasing some to create highlights.
“Whitfield Lovell: Passages,” debuted at the Boca Raton Museum of Art on February 15 and will remain on view there through May 21, 2023, before embarking on a national tour for the next two years. A handsome catalogue accompanies the exhibition.
Bottom LineKey takeaway: Chasten Whitfield started Chastenation, a nonprofit, when she was just 16 years old to grant an opportunity to go fishing for differently abled people. Now it's grown to a TV show. Core challenge: Bringing in donations to continue the fishing charters, as producing a TV has proven to be expensive. What's next: Whitfield has a number of goals on her checklist with the ultimate one being to make running the nonprofit a full-time job. ...
After getting her driver's license in 2016, Chasten Whitfield drove a few friends out to a fishing camp on Anna Maria City Pier. That’s where she met Easton, a 4-year-old with spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine.
Every time Easton caught a fish that day, he would do a doughnut in his wheelchair and exclaim he had caught a fish. By the end of the day, Whitfield was so caught up in his joy that she asked his mom to take him fishing in a boat.
“I blame it all on Easton now,” says Whitfield, now 23. “That’s how I started taking the kids fishing.”
Whitfield says she has since taken 70 to 80 differently abled people as well as those who have been bullied on fishing charters. She does that through her nonprofit, Bradenton-based Chastenation, which has been garnering regional attention.
To fuel the nonprofit's growth Whitfield — who maintains a day-job as an associate producer at Monster Jam, a Feld Entertainment motorsports competition, in Palmetto — has dipped into her entrepreneurial side. She has a strong social media presence, especially on Instagram and YouTube. She also has her own TV show that has led to an even bigger goal: to be the first fishing show on Netflix.
Her TV show, "Their Life my Lens with Chasten Whitfield," debuted in 2021. She set a five-year goal as a freshman at the Savannah College of Art and Design to pursue a degree in TV and film. Last year, her senior year, she was given the opportunity to film a pilot show and present it to Sportsman Channel.
“It worked,” she says. “Now I’m on season two.”
The show is even expanding, going on Waypoint TV and Destination America. Each episode consists of Whitfield taking someone out to fish until lunch and then they do an interview.
After wrapping up filming for season two, Whitfield hopes to expand Chastenation across the U.S.
Every charter is different, but Whitfield blocks off her entire day for a trip. Some of the people she takes out will be done after catching a fish or two. Others will fish until it’s time to go home.
“This is their day,” she says. “I’m just the boat Uber driver. I’m their chauffeur for the day.”
To fill the time for those who don’t like to fish nonstop, Whitfield takes them swimming or they’ll look for dolphins. Some just want to drive the boat around.
Whitfield grew up on the water, living on a canal, but she didn’t become serious about fishing until she was 11 or 12.
“Now, I like seeing the reaction of the kid or person that I take fishing,” she says. “Seeing their actual reaction first hand is just amazing and worth everything right there.”
Her nonprofit has grown beyond the charters, too.
Following a trip to Texas, she had a person reach out about a neighbor with cerebral palsy in Dallas. The mom was hopeful Whitfield could take the child fishing, but Whitfield knew nothing about the fishing laws in Texas. “I was just there to watch a rodeo,” she says.
Still Whitfield did as much as she could, using her source of sponsors to find a charter captain in Texas to connect with the person. The schedules didn’t line up, so unfortunately, the child still hasn’t been taken fishing. But it hasn’t fallen off Whitfield’s to-do list, and she notes that she dreams of the day she’ll be able to call that mom to set up a charter. In the meantime, she’s setting realistic goals.
“I obviously can’t take every kid in the world fishing, so my goal is to have a bunch of different captains in different states help me do that through Chastenation,” she says.
To help with funding more charters, as the nonprofit is reliant on donations, Whitfield started the Chastenation Gala last year, raising between $8,000 to $9,000 at the event, held on Bradenton Beach. After she’s wrapped up production of the show’s second season, she’ll get started on planning the next gala. The goal this year is to raise $10,000 to $12,000.
“If we raise $10,000, that’s 100 kids we can take fishing,” she says, noting it takes about $150 to $200 to fuel up the boat.
With the TV show just breaking even (Whitfield says it costs an “uncomfortable amount” to produce), and the nonprofit reliant on donations, her ultimate goal is to make Chastenation her full-time job.
And word about Chastenation is getting out, with her social media following growing to nearly 6,000 followers. Last year, she took out 20-30 people on a charter. This year, she’s hoping to increase that to over 50 with a goal of booking a charter once a week.
Amanda Postma is a business reporter covering Sarasota and Manatee counties. After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 2018, Amanda was a reporter for a small-town newspaper in Missouri before becoming a marketing associate for a career resource startup in St. Louis.
Kennesaw State’s Amani Johnson and Jah’Che Whitfield both earned ASUN Conference recognition Friday, with the Owls having dual all-conference for the first time in their Division I history.Johnson, a graduate senior from North Versailles, Pennsylvania, and one of the most accomplished Owls in team history, was named third-team all-conference and also all-academic.Johnson, a three-time all-conference pick and four-time all-academic selection, is averaging 10.1 points, 4.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game...
Kennesaw State’s Amani Johnson and Jah’Che Whitfield both earned ASUN Conference recognition Friday, with the Owls having dual all-conference for the first time in their Division I history.
Johnson, a graduate senior from North Versailles, Pennsylvania, and one of the most accomplished Owls in team history, was named third-team all-conference and also all-academic.
Johnson, a three-time all-conference pick and four-time all-academic selection, is averaging 10.1 points, 4.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game directing the offense from the point guard spot. She also boasts a 4.0 grade-point average as she pursues her master’s in business administration.
Johnson leads the ASUN in minutes played (36.8) and is in the top five of the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.93), assists (139) and assists per game (4.8). She finished the regular season with a Division I-era team-record 139 assists and is the all-time Division I leader in scoring (1,644), assists (624), field goals made (603), field goals attempted (1,615), minutes played (5,125) and steals (252).
Whitfield, a graduate senior from Sumter, South Carolina, was voted second-team all-conference after being one of Kennesaw State’s most consistent and productive players, scoring in double-figures in 20 of her last 23 contests and all but three conference games.
Whitfield leads the Owls in scoring (14.2), rebounding (5.6), defensive rebounds (128), made field goals (150), field goals attempted (354), free throws made (90), steals (45) and free throws attempted (131). She ranks sixth in the ASUN in points per game, 15th in rebounds (5.6) and has scored more than 1,400 points in her career at Winthrop and Kennesaw State.
Whitfield has led the team in scoring 13 times this season and has scored over 20 points on four occasions.
Johnson and Whitfield have been integral pieces to Kennesaw State’s resurgence this season. The Owls (14-15, 10-8) posted the most overall wins in nearly 10 years and their first 10-win season in conference play since 2008-09.
In addition to that milestone, the Owls finished with a 9-4 mark at home this season, the most wins by Kennesaw State at the KSU Convocation Center since 2015-16.
Seventh-seeded Kennesaw State will face eighth-seeded Jacksonville State in the opening round of the ASUN tournament Saturday at 4 p.m. in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Winning the conference’s top awards were Florida Gulf Coast’s Tishara Morehouse (Player of the Year) and Karl Smesko (Coach of the Year), North Alabama’s Skyler Gill (Defensive Player of the Year), Eastern Kentucky’s Antwainette Walker (Newcomer of the Year), Austin Peay’s Shamarre Hale (Sixth Player of the Year) and Bellarmine’s Gracie Merkle (Freshman of the Year).
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — New numbers show only about half of Palm Beach County kindergarten students were considered "kindergarten-ready" when they entered elementary school this year.It comes as parents of Florida 4-year-olds are getting their kids enrolled in voluntary pre-kindergarten, or VPK, for next school year.SPECIAL COVERAGE: EducationAt Kiddie Haven Preschool, west of Lake Worth Beach, voluntary pre-kinderg...
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — New numbers show only about half of Palm Beach County kindergarten students were considered "kindergarten-ready" when they entered elementary school this year.
It comes as parents of Florida 4-year-olds are getting their kids enrolled in voluntary pre-kindergarten, or VPK, for next school year.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Education
At Kiddie Haven Preschool, west of Lake Worth Beach, voluntary pre-kindergarten is about more than letters and numbers.
"It's also about social skills, meaningful relationships, and interactions," preschool director Odalys Gonzalez said. "They are exposed to the diversity that is around them, and they get to see the world through a different perspective."
Gonzalez said the VPK experience is crucial to prepare little minds for what's to come.
"The environment we create promotes self esteem, curiosity. The children overcome challenges every day," Gonzalez said.
The children at Kiddie Haven Preschool follow a schedule to get them ready for that kindergarten experience. VPK covers three hours of the day, but parents can enroll them for longer.
"We would like the state to consider doing a full day of VPK. And personally, I would like to start seeing them fund 3-year-olds as well," said Palm Beach County School Board member Erica Whitfield.
Whitfield wants more funding to expand early childhood education opportunities.
Records show only about 50% of kindergarteners in the School District of Palm Beach County were considered "kindergarten-ready," based on testing in the beginning of the school year.
Some schools, according to Whitfield, were below 20%.
"That is where we see the biggest gap in our system is kids who participated in pre-K and those that didn’t and how different they are when they come in and continue to be different," Whitfield said. "We're always playing catch-up with those kids who didn’t have those opportunities."
Whitfield added the school district is working to strengthen relationships between early childhood education providers and the elementary schools nearby.
The Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County is there to help parents find a VPK center that's right for them and go through the enrollment process.
The coalition encourages parents of 4-year-olds to sign up for VPK now, as spots fill up quickly for next year.
Erin Gallagher, the division vice president for communications and planning at the Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County, said they have a team ready to talk to parents about what they are looking for in quality child care.
Gallagher said VPK enrollment numbers have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels at more than 12,000 students a year.
"The transition to kindergarten is a big step, not just for our 4-year-olds, but for their families and caregivers. So we're thrilled our numbers are back to where they normally are," Gallagher said. "We know there is still a group of children who don't attend VPK for a variety of reasons every year, and we certainly understand that. We'd love to see that number continue to climb, so we're encouraging all families to consider that for next year for their child."
To obtain a VPK voucher to enroll your child, you can visit the Early Learning Coalition's website by clicking here.
You can call the Early Learning Coalition's Child Care Resource and Referral Center at 561-514-3300 to speak to someone who can help find the child care center that is right for you and your family.
Current enrollment is for children who will turn 4 years old by September 1, 2023. You will need proof of your child's age and residency to obtain a voucher online from the ELC website.
For more information about what your child is expected to know, both socially and academically, when heading into kindergarten, click here.
Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Some Palm Beach County high schools will be selected to test out metal detectors in the next couple of months while more school districts are considering them as well.PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — There's never been more change in security at public schools in Florida than in the last five years.The tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School moved security to the top of the list for school districts, and it's still the No. 1 priority.Some Palm Beach County high schools will be selected to ...
Some Palm Beach County high schools will be selected to test out metal detectors in the next couple of months while more school districts are considering them as well.
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — There's never been more change in security at public schools in Florida than in the last five years.
The tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School moved security to the top of the list for school districts, and it's still the No. 1 priority.
Some Palm Beach County high schools will be selected to test out metal detectors in the next couple of months while more school districts are considering them as well.
The sight of metal detectors or metal detector wands at the entrances of schools can seem overwhelming. But there's no education without safety and security, and school districts are trying to balance it all.
However, these security measures might be what they need for peace of mind.
"If the school has it, the parents don't have to worry about it," parent Yvette Paul said.
In a few months, Paul's son graduates from Forest Hill Community High School.
"He said he wants to go to college," Paul said. "I hope so."
She thinks often about the parents of the Parkland school shooting student victims. It's on the mind of school board members too.
"That really impacted me a lot," Palm Beach County School Board member Erica Whitfield said. "I have watched the school system grow and change over these past five years."
Whitfield said the pilot program for metal detectors will start at four high schools in the next 60 days or so.
"We've had students bring Tasers onto campus just for safety, and then they end up being expelled," Whitfield said. "We expelled a few kids last week that brought those kinds of weapons onto campus."
Schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties currently have random metal detection systems.
Martin County schools do not use metal detectors or wands.
St. Lucie County schools have metal detectors at discipline-based alternative schools, but there are no plans for district-wide use.
Schools in Indian River and Okeechobee County do not use metal detectors or wands.
Greg Yezak's son is also set to graduate in Palm Beach County this year, and he's all in favor of metal detectors at schools.
"They have security at the school always anyway so this is just another tier," Yezak said. "It's added safety for everyone in my opinion."
Whitfield said the district will see how the pilot program goes before more discussions take place about implementing them at all high schools.
"For me at least, the jury is still out," Whitfield said. "I believe in anything that we can do for the safety and security for our students."
Below are the full statements from the St. Lucie and Martin County school districts regarding metal detectors:
MARTIN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
"We continue to monitor and consider all recommendations made by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission and our law enforcement partners to determine how they might enhance comprehensive safety plan."
ST. LUCIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
"St. Lucie Public Schools utilizes metal detectors at our discipline based alternative school and at certain large scale public events. There are no plans for district-wide implementation of metal detectors at this time. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority and we continue to implement proven security measures and best practices for the safety of everyone."
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